1D1 - 20th Century Scientific and Technological Advancements Flashcards
Explain the importance of scientific and technological achievements in the United States during the 20th century including the advancement of flight, the discovery of medicines, and the space race.
What is mass production?
Way of producing large amounts of standardized material goods.
What does the concept of standardized parts mean?
Process to ensure each object coming off factory line will have the same size, shape, and components.
How did Henry Ford revolutionize automobile manufacturing?
Introduced an assembly line that significantly reduced production time and costs.
What were 4 effects of mass production on society?
- Higher wages for workers.
- Less working hours.
- Rise in overall quality of life.
- Substantial economic growth for the manufacturing industry and overall prosperity.
What significant changes to 20th-century life did mass production in the 1920s bring about?
Allowed for products to be made quickly and in large quantities.
What new model for the assembly line was introduced to enable mass production?
Required workers to stay in one spot and focus on creating specialized small parts.
What was the Cold War?
A period of rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union as world powers from about 1945-1991.
How did the Cold War influence the two nations directly?
- Nuclear arms race.
- Race to launch a human into space.
- Political proxy wars like the Vietnam War.
What was significant about the Wright Brothers’ First Powered Flight in 1903?
First powered, controlled, and sustained flight.
Who completed the first solo nonstop transatlantic flight in his airplane flying from New York to Paris?
Charles Lindbergh
(1927)
How were jet engines developed?
During World War II and afterward, many advancements were made leading to the development of military and commercial jet aircraft.
Frank Whittle in the UK and Hans von Ohain in Germany were pioneers, but significant advancements were made in the U.S.
Why was penicillin a significant discovery in 1928?
Revolutionized the treatment of bacterial infections.
Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin, but its mass production was developed in the United States during World War II.
Why were Jonas Salk and Albert Sabin important?
In the 1950s, they developed effective polio vaccines, leading to the near-eradication of polio in many parts of the world.
How important were advances in chemotherapy during the 1940s-1960s?
Researchers such as Sidney Farber advanced the use of chemotherapy for cancer treatment, significantly improving survival rates for certain cancers.
What was a cause of the U.S. creating a space program?
The Soviet Union’s launch of Sputnik in 1957.
Who was the first American in space?
Alan Shepard
Aboard the Freedom 7 capsule in 1961.
What was significant about Apollo 11?
Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to walk on the moon on July 20, 1969.
What program in the 1940s led to the development of the atomic bomb, significantly impacting the outcome of World War II and leading to advancements in nuclear energy?
The Manhattan Project
